Why You Should Definitely Consider Medical Tourism for Diabetic Care

It is no secret that diabetes leads to a tremendous amount of medical costs and expenses each and every year in the United States. Despite this, over 86 million Americans under the age of 20 years old have pre-diabetes and 90 percent of these individuals are completely unaware of their pre-diabetic condition.

Furthermore, 1 in every 11 Americans has been diagnosed with diabetes which equates to over 30 million children and adults currently facing the medical costs associated with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. However, for years many more affordable options were cast aside yet, with a rise in medical travel there may finally be an option for those most affected.

In fact, although many Americans are quick to assume that these medical costs are the same globally, they simply are not. According to a recent study, Americans pay between 5.7 and 7.5 times more for Lantus and NovoLog, two popular insulin brands used commonly across the world. However, the cost differentiation is even more drastic when looking at specific countries such as Brazil and India. In comparison to Brazil, Americans spend 6 times more for these insulin brands and in comparison to India, these brands are 16 times more expensive in the states.

According to a Reuters report, “The difference comes mostly because other countries implement price controls, while the U.S. usually allows the market to set prices.” Many big pharmaceutical corporations will also block the production of cheaper alternatives such as generic medications in order to corner the market and raise prices even further each year. Because of affordable healthcare and medications in Europe, it has been proven that Europe is drastically more healthy than America with less cases of diabetes and other diseases overall.

So why does this all matter? The main reason is because these foreign countries provide the medications necessary for individuals with diabetes to survive at a lower cost than in America. This helps the various caregivers and supports persons living with a person with diabetes as well by helping them care for them in a more cost-effective manner.

Therefore, the average person with diabetes in America would actually save money by receiving their medications overseas–even with travel costs included. With all of this in mind, a new trend in medical tourism has begun to take over the healthcare industry in full force, and it could be the answer to millions of Americans’ medical issues in the process.

What Is Medical Tourism?

According to an article by AMR Air Ambulance about the benefits of medical tourism, “Medical Tourism is when a patient travels outside of the country or state, in order to receive medical care.” There are many ways to utilize medical tourism options, including air ambulances and cheap flight options but, the benefits of this form of travel are truly what make medical tourism so enticing.

Not only does medical tourism allow for individuals with diabetes to be able to receive cheaper medications, but it also allows them to travel when doing so. Medical tourism also provides cheaper medical care overall, as well. In fact, according to a recent study, the average heart bypass surgery in America costs roughly $144,000 — whereas, in Mexico, the operation costs roughly $27,000 and in India, the same operation only costs $5,200. With this in mind, the average daily costs, including food, a hotel room, and taxi fare in India, average out to roughly 3000 rupees which equates to about $46 a day.

The cheaper flights from Los Angeles to India average between $500 to $1,000 dollars round-trip, which means, with a week in India and everything else included, the cost for a medical trip to India for heart bypass surgery would be roughly around $6,522. That is $137,478 less than the cost for just the surgery itself in the states. Although this is only one situation, the drastic differentiation between India’s costs and America’s costs for various different medications and forms of healthcare means that, no matter what the trip is for, it is more than likely a cheaper alternative than national healthcare would be any day.

How Is It More Cost Effective and Ideal?

Although we discussed above how this alternative to national healthcare is a far more cost-effective alternative for surgery, this is not the only way that this form of travel is cheaper in the slightest. In fact, with medications being roughly 16 times cheaper in India alone, in many cases, it is more effective for individuals with diabetes to simply visit India and receive their year’s supply of medications and return.

In fact, according to Dr. Nikhil Prabhu, a diabetologist in India, the daily cost to supply insulin to an average individual in India using Lupisulin (Regular insulin) with a syringe would be 10 Rupees, which equates to about 16 cents in American money per day. This averages out to about $58.40 per year.

In America, however, the average yearly cost for someone using an MDI is $2,422.08, and that’s not even including insulin pumping for people with greater insulin needs. Therefore, purchasing medications such as insulin overseas could quite literally save a person with diabetes thousands of dollars yearly, proving just how cost-effective this medical alternative truly is.

Another big reason why medical tourism is ideal is because it allows individuals with diabetes to also be able to travel. With so many people nowadays switching to nomadic lifestyles, this travel is a great way to add a little adventure into an individual’s life whilst saving thousands in medical costs along the way.

In the end, there are countless reasons why this form of international medical care is ideal but, perhaps the main reason is because we are fortunate enough to be able to find the medications necessary to survive for far less than major pharmaceutical corporations here in America would ever offer us. This means that despite facing a major disease such as diabetes, you don’t have to go bankrupt or struggle to simply get by.

In fact, with medical tourism, you not only can save money and receive more effective healthcare but also take that vacation you’ve always dreamed of and not feel guilty for doing so.

Samantha Donaldson is a freelance journalist that specializes in tech, business, and healthcare. When she isn’t advocating for diabetic research and riding her bike in various charity races, Samantha loves to travel full-time with her adorable deaf rescue pug, Pugsley, and her fiance across America.